British Christmas Tradition of Panto by Fremont Players
It’s always nice to see a community come together to show something cool now and again. I felt a powerful sense of community when I saw Red Riding Hood and the Three Little Pigs, a British pantomime performed at the Sunset Hill Community Club in Seattle. The performance was put together by the Fremont Players and included original music by the Fremont Philharmonic Orchestra. British Pantomimes are traditionally performed at Christmas and afterward, with family audiences. So it was nice seeing the tradition continue even today.
The play was performed in a small theater, with the most basic set dressing and props. The costumes worked for what the show was. As it was a British panto, audience interaction was a core part of the show, though not as present as I would have liked. Audience engagement mainly consisted of audience members shouting phrases, when cued by the actors. Apart from that, the show followed a very focused script, where Red Riding Hood would try to get to her grandma’s house, all while tying the story of The Three Little Pigs into the narrative.
The show had a diverse cast of characters, who consisted of women cast as men, like Pamela Frisk Schwartz as Prince Rupert, and men cast as women like Keith Neale who played Red Riding Hood. Each played their parts well, with my favorite being T.R. Welter as “Wolfie.” Each actor performed their parts very well, and I could tell each brought their A-game to entertain their audience. The play was generally aimed at younger audiences, most likely children. The audience for this performance mainly consisted of older people.
All the music for the show was written by Kiki Hood, who also performed in the show as Grandma Myrtle. The Fremont Philharmonic Orchestra performed each song amazingly. The songs were performed brilliantly and there were so many fantastic ones. My favorites included the “Pig Rap” and “Wolfie’s Song.” A few of the songs, like “Happy Hour” had the audience sing with the actors in certain parts, which helped with the audience interaction.
I was somewhat disappointed in the amount of audience interaction in the show. British Pantos are often known for over-the-top characters and audience participation, and sadly, I didn’t feel as though there was enough of the latter in this performance. The most interaction I saw was when a character would say something along the lines of “Oh No, I Didn’t” The audience would be indicated to respond, “Oh yes, you did.” I was so wowed by the level of audience engagement with my last British pantomime, “O’ Christmas Tea,” that I couldn’t help but wish they could have interacted more with the audience.
Overall, This show was a very good time and I highly recommend this show for any families with young children who wish to help out the community. The show is currently being performed at Sunset Hills Community Club, located at 3003 NW 66th St, Seattle, WA 98117. The show will be performed on Saturdays and Sundays, 1 PM and 4:30 PM showings until January 7th. Get Tickets here: https://thestranger.boldtypetickets.com/events/145261027/red-riding-hood-and-the-three-little-pigs